Badger Air-Brush Co. Sotar 2020-2F Large Gravity Feed Fine Airbrush, Black

Buying a Badger product is a zero risk exercise.The product performs superbly and is built to last.I own several airbrushes from most of the leading airbrush manufacturers and this Sotar 2020 would be my first choice for fine and detail work. It's important to thin your paint well, this applies for any airbrush and particularly so with a fine needle airbrush and adjust your air pressure to match the paint and several other factors which I will not elaborate on, so assuming you are able to get the basics more or less right you will experience just how easy and satisfying it is to control and achieve some very impressive results with this Sotor 2020.As much as I love airbrushing, I loath the airbrush clean up afterwards. This unit is a breeze to clean; the base of the cup is easily accessible and close to the nozzle assembly so the amount of material that would need to be removed is minimal. And lastly the feel of this unit in your hand feels natural making it very comfortable to use for extended periods. It’s an airbrush that has clearly been designed for discerning airbrush artists and from the rest of us mere mortals, we thank them for helping influence the creation of such a fine product.

I love this airbrush so much I use it almost every day to paint model kits. It sprays incredibly thin lines with no overspray and it sprays super consistently. The only issue I have with this airbrush is that the front assembly is leaking air.

I was sent an airbrush in a cardboard box, not the usual Badger box. It had no adapter, spare needle, or anything. The cup and paint channel were full of some kind of rust or crusty corrosion, like it had been left in salt water or something. The brass on the nozzle end was dull and corroded. The trigger is very rough and grindy to press and pull back. The air valve itself was very rough. The needle seemed ok but barely came out of the end of the nozzle tip. I’m thinking it is a counterfeit or something as it’s nowhere near the quality of my lower model Badger airbrushes.This is the 2nd or 3rd time I got burned buying airbrushes from Amazon. It will also be my last. I’m taking my money to actual art stores that sell legitimate products. This is ridiculous.

I purchased this airbrush mainly for the purposes of doing detail work on plastic model kits. It turns out to actually be overkill for that task, as compared to the Iwata HP-CS I typically use, the lines from this brush are extraordinarily fine and clean despite the tiny width. Using this Sotar I have been able to duplicate the look of some texture decals with good success as well. 15-20psi is all I needed for various types of paints including Vallejo Model-Air, thinned Tamiya Acrylic and Vallejo Game Color, and Testors enamels. I think pretty much any paint that has a fine enough pigment (or can be thinned to be similar to such) can go through this system without problem.I will note, despite thinning them a lot, and using various combinations of thinner and retarder medium, I did have lots of "spatter" problems with Humbrol Acrylics. I think maybe the pigment of those is just not "fine" enough for Sotar regardless of thinned consistency. The included alternative needle/cap combo might remedy this, but I didn't try it yet.A word on the issue of authenticity of the product. I have looked over the package and the unit as carefully as I think anyone can expect and I find no sign that this is a "knockoff" product; so don't let the low price fool you. My unit came with the foam cutout box and the extra needle with wrench and extra crown cap. Also included were the warranty registration card addressed to Badger and the assembler signature page with parts list that other reviews have mentioned. It's quite possible these units are refurbished, however; as I did find some small dried paint inside the cup. Also the trigger action and spring needed a couple of drops of oil. After that, everything was smooth and ready to go.